Welding rods are an important piece of refined crafting gear in My Time at Portia, and for new players they can be hard to find especially if you’re unfamiliar with the multi-level tech trees that the game has for multiple workshop upgrades.
The only way to get welding rods in My Time at Portia is to make them with an industrial furnace by mixing 3 pieces of tin ore with 1 piece of copper ore.
Welding rods are crucial for parts that are used for a wide variety of other important items you’ll need for build commissions, new work stations, or other plot-related items. While just saying “it takes an industrial furnace” is easy to say, you need to take several steps to make sure that you are upgraded enough to build it.
Where Do I Get Welding Rods in My Time at Portia?
Since the only way to get welding rods is to make them yourself. This means they’re going to come from your workshop, but only if you have the properly upgraded workstations.
Since players have to keep an eye on a wide variety of workshop tools like:
- Furnaces
- Cutters
- Work Table
- Grinders
- Skivers
- Assembly Station
- Miscellaneous Specialty Tool Stations
The good news is only the first three of those matter when it comes to creating welding rods for any and all future needs in Portia.
So what exactly do you need to do to be able to make welding rods?
What do you need for crafting welding rods?
- An industrial furnace (this is the third level, second upgrade of furnace)
- 3 tin ore + 1 copper ore
What do you need for an industrial furnace?
- Have donated at least 10 data discs to Petra at the Research Center to get the diagram
- Assembly Station (the one you start with is fine)
- 5 Marble Planks
- 5 Steel Plates (you do need an industrial cutter for this)
- 2 Industrial Cores (requires a Level 2 Work Table)
How do you get the marble planks and steel plates I need for welding rods in Portia?
- Marble planks require 3 pieces of marble each, and can be made with any level of cutter, even the most basic one you can build from the very beginning.
- Steel plates require 3 carbon steel bars, and can be made from an industrial level cutter. That means you need at least one upgraded cutter because the basic one can’t.
If you don’t see one of these as an option, check the level of the tool. It’s likely that you have one or more station that needs to be upgraded to give you access to those missing tools or parts.
I Can’t Get Welding Rods in My Time at Portia – What Should I Do?
If you find yourself in a situation where you need welding rods but can’t make them, maybe from taking a new commission and not knowing you couldn’t make those products at the current work table, don’t worry, these usually have 5-9 days to get the commission done which means if you can figure out what the missing pieces are then you can usually upgrade your workshop and
Your Welding Rod Cheat Sheet:
- Level 2 Cutter (Industrial Cutter)
- Level 3 Furnace (Industrial Furnace)
- You will need a Level 2 Furnace to create parts needed (specifically carbon steel bars)
- Level 2 Worktable
The most common reason you can’t get welding rods in My Time at Portia is because you have a Level 2 Furnace (Civil Furnace) instead of a Level 3 Furnace (Industrial Furnace).
So what do you need to do immediately to take care of this problem and get those welding rods made in time?
Step 1: Donate 10 Research Discs to the Research Center if you haven’t already. You need those schematics for the upgraded furnaces (Civil at 5 and Industrial at 10).
Step 2: See what upgrades you need to make and start gathering or creating the resources needed for the upgrades. For example, an industrial cutter requires simple circuits, grinding saws, and a lot of carbon steel bars. An industrial furnace needs plates, planks, and a couple of industrial cores. Start building those materials because the end of the week can come quick.
Step 3: Upgrade all the buildings to the necessary levels. If you can’t find how to make a part for one of the upgrades, that likely means you need to do one of the other upgrades first, and that will unlock your ability to make the necessary parts.
Step 4: Get to the Level 3 Furnace, load up that tin ore and copper ore you’ve been hoarding (copper ore can be found everywhere but is very common in the first ruins in town, tin is much easier to find in the second set of ruins), and start producing those welding rods!
What Are Welding Rods Needed for in Portia?
There are multiple times when welding rods come up, and in the mid to late game they are a very important part of My Time at Portia. They are a necessary part for creating both Steel Shells and Steel Frames, which are used a LOT in late game crafting. You will also sometimes find welding rods being directly requested on the Commissions Board for both Rank A and Rank B commissions.
There are also two quests that specifically require welding rods from the players.
- 5 welding rods are required to finish the Poisoned Water mission
- 4 welding rods are required to finish the Crashed Station mission
You will find late game that you always want these on hand.
If you have a huge excess and want to get rid of them, don’t bother gifting them. These are a universal neutral as a gift so you won’t make much progress.
However there are six places that buy welding rods – some of which show up later in the game depending how far along the main quest you are.
In My Time at Portia you can sell welding rods at:
- A&G Construction Store
- Best Brother (Paulie’s Furniture Store)
- Harbor Trade Station
- Temporary Stores when they appear in the Abandoned Ruins
- Total Tools
Portia Welding Rods: In Conclusion
It can be easy to start seeing bulletin board commissions that ask directly for welding rods or require items that are made with welding rods, such as steel shells or steel frames before you have leveled up your Work Table, Furnaces, and Cutters to the right level to produce them. By tracing the tools you need or looking at what type of item it is, it’s pretty easy to figure out what needs to be upgraded.
In My Time at Portia welding rods can’t be won, bought, or found in ruins. They can only be produced at your workshop because they are a refined piece of crafting so if you find yourself in need of one, better fire up those furnaces, get those cutters ready, and get crafting!
Other My Portia Articles You May Enjoy:
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- My Time at Portia How To Make Money
- What Resources Are Most Important in Portia
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Proud to embrace the locally created moniker of “Corrupt Overlord” from one of the all time great Lords of Waterdeep runs, Shane is one member of the Assorted Meeples crew and will be hard at work creating awesome content for the website. He is a long-time player of board games, one time semi-professional poker player, and tends to run to the quirky or RPG side of things when it comes to playing video games. He loves tabletop roleplaying systems like Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, Werewolf, Fate, and others, and not only has been a player but has run games as DM for years. You can find his other work in publications like Level Skip or Hobby Lark.